Texas Reads: Case Keenum explains his priorities in life

After Case Keenum threw the pass that will forever be known as the “Minneapolis Miracle” to win its divisional playoff game on Jan. 14, a sideline reporter asked him on national TV if that was the best moment of his life. Keenum, still almost speechless after the incredible game-winning play, didn’t hesitate.

“It’s probably going to go down as the third best moment of my life,” he said, “behind giving my life to Jesus Christ and marrying my wife.”

He expands on those priorities in his new book, “Playing for More: Trust Beyond What You Can See” (BH Publishing Group, $22.95 hardcover). The book goes on sale Tuesday.

Glenn Dromgoole(Photo: Contributed photo)

“If you’d been there on our wedding day and seen (Kimberly) walk down the aisle, or if you’d spent every day with her since, then you’d understand why my marriage ranks higher than that play,” he writes. “Trust me, it’s no contest. Not even close.

“As for giving my life to Christ, I don’t see how anything can be placed above that… If you have a relationship with Christ that’s filled with complete and eternal joy, how can anything else compete?”

Don’t get him wrong – Case Keenum loves football. As a coach’s son, he grew up around the game — in the locker room, the weight room, on the practice field, on the sidelines. His dad, Steve, is his hero and role model, he writes. “Before every game, he texts me four things: Pray hard. Play hard. Take care of the ball. Have fun.”

Keenum hasn’t had a smooth ride to the top of the game. Only one major college recruited him after he led Wylie High School to a state championship – the University of Houston. Even after he set collegiate passing records there, no pro team drafted him. He was on the practice squad and served as a backup quarterback for several years, had a few good starts in Houston and Los Angeles, but found himself again in a backup role last season with the Minnesota Vikings. When he emerged as the starter, he led them to a division championship, then signed with the Denver Broncos in the off-season to be their starting quarterback.

The ups and downs of his pro career, Keenum writes, have “taught me so much about humility and trusting that God has a plan for all of us.”

Keenum’s story, written with Andrew Perloff, is filled with football stories from high school, college and the pros, but the overriding theme is that faith and family rank ahead of football, as he said on national TV.

“Am I a football player who happens to be a Christian?” he writes. “No, I’m a Christian who happens to be a football player. That’s my calling. That’s my defining characteristic. Once I realized that, everything else fell into place. I became a better football player and, more importantly, a better person.”

In an afterword, Kimberly (Caddell) Keenum, an Abilene Cooper grad, relates her excitement watching the “Minneapolis Miracle” from the team’s family section. “Case running around like a maniac was the cutest thing ever,” she writes.

Glenn Dromgoole and his wife Carol own Texas Star Trading Company in downtown Abilene. Contact him at g.dromgoole@suddenlink.net.